I am completing my 2nd year at the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) PhD program in Health Policy and Management. I earned my Master’s in Public Health from KUMC about 15 years ago and worked as an epidemiologist at the KS department of health and environment. The rest of my career, I’ve worked in research at KUMC. My areas have been tobacco, spine surgery, and Alzheimer’s.

I lived in Minnesota and Michigan growing up. I’ve lived in Gladstone (within Kansas City), Missouri for almost 18 years. We have two kids, a boy who is 11 and a girl who is 9. We got a dog about a year ago after much begging from the kids and much resistance from me. He’s been a great addition to the family!

My current focus is tobacco, specifically harm reduction. There is a growing body of evidence to support harm reduction as well as a lot of controversy. I am excited to write about what I’ve been learning and share my thoughts. Tobacco is evolving rapidly. I’m interested in discussing the tools and strategies that will help us to keep up with the changing policy and market conditions. Tobacco, mostly cigarettes, remains the biggest cause of preventable death, so we need to keep researching ways to reduce use, increase cessation, prevent initiation, and transition to less harmful products to reduce death and disease. My passion is to figure out ways to reduce human suffering and increase equality.